Three-Dimensional Brain Teaser

ABSTRACT

The invention pertains to toys, more specifically to mechanical three-dimensional brain teasers, which can be used for play and also as a training device for developing manual dexterity, a souvenir or an educational aid. The three-dimensional brain teaser is in the form of a body of revolution having three continuous grooves on the surface thereof, which are arranged symmetrically about the body of revolution and intersect at six points. Movable components capable of moving along one continuous groove and from one continuous groove into another are arranged in the continuous grooves. The points of intersection of the continuous grooves lie in three half planes, wherein the points of intersection of each pair of the three continuous grooves lie in the same half plane, and the sections of the continuous grooves arranged between said points of intersection contain an equal number of movable components, and the remaining two sections of each continuous groove, which are located between the points of intersection in the adjacent half planes, contain an unequal number of movable components.

The present invention pertains to toys, more specifically to mechanicalthree-dimensional brain teasers, and can be used for play and also as atraining device for developing manual dexterity, a souvenir or aneducational aid.

Brain teasers with movable components, arranged in a common housing andmoving along the surface of shapes having various three-dimensionalshapes are known from the prior art (PCT Application No. WO 97/26059 ofJul. 24, 1997). The main drawback of such brain teasers is thesimplified approach to the shaping of the playing surface and to thecombinatorial game theory.

The brain teaser (PCT Application No. WO 8201322 of Apr. 29, 1982),which comprises a spherical housing with annular grooves formed in it,which are arranged on large circles of the sphere in orthogonal planesand intersect at six points, while movable components capable of movingfrom one annular groove into another at the points of intersection ofthe annular grooves are arranged in the annular grooves, comes closestto the technical solution according to the present application.

The drawback of this technical solution is that for each movablecomponent, there exists a second movable component, whose positiondepends on the position of the first one, which limits the combinatorialgame theory.

The technical result ensured by the set of features mentioned is thebroadening of the combinatorial game theory thanks to a change in thesequence of the mutual intersection of the continuous grooves and to thepresence of an unequal number of movable components on differentsections of the continuous groove, which are arranged between the pointsof intersection of the continuous grooves, as well as an improvement ofthe ergonomics of the toy due to the possibility of designing it in theform of different three-dimensional bodies of revolution, the fact thatthe movable components are provided with a relief, the prevention ofjamming of the movable components and the reduction of the forcerequired to move them.

An additional technical result is the simplification of the manufactureof the housing of the toy according to the casting method from a plasticdue to the use of two types of housing parts, inner parts and outerparts, which are joined together during assembly along the surfaceformed by sliding of a straight line perpendicular to the direction ofsliding along the trajectory of the continuous grooves.

The technical result is achieved in that the three-dimensional brainteaser has the shape of a body of revolution, on the surface of whichthree continuous grooves are formed, which intersect at six points ofintersection, and movable components capable of moving along onecontinuous groove and from one continuous groove into another arearranged in the continuous grooves, and the points of intersection ofthe continuous grooves are located in three half planes, and the pointsof intersection of each pair of three continuous grooves are located inone half plane, and the sections of the continuous grooves arrangedbetween them contain an equal number of movable components, and theremaining two sections of each continuous groove, arranged between thepoints of intersection of the continuous grooves, which are located inadjacent half planes, contain an unequal number of movable components;

and in that the movable components are made in the form of balls;

as well as in that the half planes are defined by the axis of the bodyof revolution and are arranged symmetrically relative to it;

as well as in that the body of revolution is made in the form of anellipsoid;

as well as in that one of the sections of each continuous groove, whichcontain an unequal number of movable components, contains an even numberof movable components;

as well as in that the continuous grooves are narrowed or closed at thepoints of intersection of the continuous grooves;

as well as in that flexible components fixing the movable component areformed at the points of intersection;

as well as in that star wheels, which are capable of rotating and areequipped with flexible fixing components, are installed at the points ofintersection of the movable components adjoining the points ofintersection of the continuous grooves;

as well as in that a track, the coefficient of friction between whichand the movable component is greater than the coefficient of frictionbetween the movable components and the side surface of the continuousgroove, is provided on the bottom of the continuous grooves;

as well as in that a track with a toothed surface is formed on thebottom of the continuous grooves and depressions or notches interactingwith the toothed surface of the track are formed on the surface of themovable components;

as well as in that depressions forming a relief comprising geometricshapes, numerical or letter symbols are formed on the surface of themovable components;

as well as in that the three-dimensional brain teaser contains threesets with identical numbers of movable component, each of whichcomprises movable components painted in the same color different fromthe color of the movable components of the other set, and it containssix movable components having a color different from the movablecomponents in the sets;

as well as in that the housing of the toy has a marking indicating oneor more predetermined positions of the movable components;

as well as in that the movable components have a graphic marking, and ananalogous marking indicating the required position of the movablecomponent is provided on the housing;

as well as in that the housing of the brain teaser comprises two typesof inner parts and three types of outer parts, which are joined togetherduring the assembly of the toy along the surface formed by the slidingof a straight line perpendicular to the direction of sliding along thetrajectory of the continuous grooves;

as well as in that the outer parts of the housing of the brain teaserare transparent, while the inner ones are non-transparent or have a dullsurface;

as well as in that the housing of the brain teaser comprises three typesof inner parts and three types of outer parts, which are joined togetherduring the assembly of the toy along a surface formed by the sliding ofa straight line perpendicular to the direction of sliding along thetrajectory of the continuous grooves;

as well as in that the outer parts of the housing of the brain teaserare transparent and the inner parts are non-transparent or have a dullsurface.

The essence of the present invention is explained by the specification,schematic drawings and drawings, in which

FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of a variant of the housing of the brainteaser;

FIG. 2 shows a geometric (three-dimensional) schematic view of thestructure of the trajectories of the continuous grooves of the brainteaser;

FIG. 3 shows a three-dimensional sketch of a variant of the housing ofthe brain teaser in a cross section with the star wheels installed; and

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show schematic diagrams of variants of the assembly ofthe housing of the toy from inner and outer parts.

The three-dimensional brain teaser (FIG. 1) is a body of revolutionrelative to the axis S, on the surface of which body three continuousgrooves 1, 2, 3 are formed, in which movable components 4 (for example,balls) capable of moving both along one groove and from one continuousgroove into other sites (points) of intersection of the continuousgrooves are formed. The body of revolution may have different shapes,for example, the shape of an ellipsoid. The points of intersection ofthe continuous grooves A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2 are shown as coveredpoints. FIG. 2 shows a (three-dimensional) geometric view of thestructure of the trajectories of the continuous grooves. The points ofintersection of the continuous grooves are located in three half planesA, B, C, which may be defined by an axis of the body of revolution S andare arranged symmetrically relative to the axis S, i.e., they divergefrom it at an angle of 120° relative to one another. The continuousgrooves 1 and 3 intersect in half plane A at the points A1 and A2. Thecontinuous grooves 1 and 2 intersect in the half plane B at the pointsB1 and B2. The continuous grooves 2 and 3 intersect in the half plane Cat the points C1 and C2. The points of intersection of each pair of thethree continuous grooves are located in one half plane and the sectionsof the continuous grooves arranged between them, A1-A2, B1-B2 and C1-C2,contain equal numbers of movable components 4, while the two sections ofeach continuous groove, which are located between the points ofintersection of the continuous grooves lying in the adjacent half planescontain unequal numbers of movable components 4, and one of thesesections may contain an even number of movable components 4, whileanother section may contain an odd number of movable components 4. Forexample, the section of the continuous groove 1 lying between the pointsof intersection A1 and A2 contains a number of movable components 4equal to those in the section of the continuous groove 1 lying betweenthe points of intersection B1 and B2, while the section of thecontinuous groove 1 located between the points of intersection A1 and B1contains a number of movable components 4 that is not equal to thenumber to those in the section of the continuous groove 1 lying betweenthe points of intersection A2 and B2.

To improve the ergonomics (comfort of use), the sections of thecontinuous grooves 1, 2 and 3 arranged between the points ofintersection of the continuous grooves lying in one half plane contain agreater number of movable components 4 than do the sections of thecontinuous grooves arranged between the points of intersection of thecontinuous grooves lying in the adjacent half planes. The sections withgreater number of movable components 4 are most suitable for moving themovable components 4 in this case.

As the trajectories of the continuous grooves 1, 2, 3 are arranged alonga three-dimensional curve not lying within the plane, this makes itpossible for the continuous grooves 1, 2, 3 to be designed as groovesintersecting at right angles (or at an angle close to the straightangle) and to contain different numbers of movable components 4 on thesections of the continuous grooves 1, 2, 3 lying between the points ofintersection of the continuous grooves. The intersection of thecontinuous grooves 1, 2, 3 at right angles creates the best conditionsfor the movement of the movable components 4, reducing the possibilityof their jamming at the points of intersection of the continuous grooves1, 2, 3.

In case the movable components 4 are designed in the form of balls, thewidth of the groove is reduced or the groove is designed as a closedgroove in order to prevent them from falling out of the continuousgrooves 1, 2 and 3 at the points of intersection of the continuousgrooves.

Flexible components fixing the movable component 4 exactly at the pointof intersection of the continuous grooves 1, 2, 3 may be installed toprevent jamming of the movable components 4 at the points ofintersection of the continuous grooves 1, 2, 3. The flexible componentsmay be components of the housing of the brain teaser or installedadditionally in the housing.

Another variant of fixing the movable components 4 in order to preventtheir jamming at the points of intersection of the continuous grooves 1,2, 3 provides for installation of star wheels 5 (FIG. 3), which rotateduring the movement of the movable components 4 (not shown in thefigure) and rotate during the movement of the movable components 4 (notshown in the figure) and have a flexible component 6 of their own, whichfixes them, at points located adjacent to the points of intersection ofthe continuous grooves 1, 2, 3. Thus, the star wheels 5 fix the movablecomponents 4 located at points located adjacent to the points ofintersection of the continuous grooves 1, 2, 3 and these, in turn, fixthe movable components 4 located directly at the points of intersectionof the continuous grooves 1, 2, 3.

In case the movable components 4 are in the form of balls, a track,whose surface has a coefficient of friction with the surface of theball-shaped movable component 4 that is greater than the side surface[sic—Tr.Ed.] of the continuous grooves 1, 2, 3, may be provided on thebottom of the continuous grooves 1, 2, 3 for ease of movement of saidballs. This is achieved by making the surface rough or by arrangingstrips of material having a coefficient of friction that is greater thanthat of the material from which the housing of the toy is made, e.g.,rubber, on the bottom of the continuous grooves 1, 2, 3. To move theball, it is necessary to press it in this case to the track, pushing itand causing it at the same time to perform a rotary motion in thedirection of displacement. A track having a toothed surface may also beprovided for this purpose on the bottom of the continuous groove 1, 2,3, while depressions or notches interacting with the surface of thetrack and transforming the rotary motion applied to the ball 4 into areciprocating motion of the ball 4 are provided on the surface of theballs 4. The track with the toothed surface may be recessed deep in thecontinuous groove, and the teeth may be arranged in the recessed partthereof, at the edges or over the entire width of the track. Thedepressions or notches are provided on the balls 4 such that the surfaceof one ball 4 cannot interact with the surface of another one.

In addition, a relief, comprising geometric shapes, numerical or lettersymbols, may be provided on the surface of the movable components 4 bymeans of the depressions. In this case, the player will be able to usethe toy “blindly,” receiving information on the positions of the movablecomponents 4 by touch.

Example of Operation of the Device

During the displacement of one of the movable components 4 located inthe continuous groove 1, said movable component pushes the remainingmovable components 4 located in the continuous groove 1, which leads toa displacement of the movable components 4 located in the continuousgroove 1, and the movable components located at the points ofintersection A1, A2, B1, B2 of the continuous groove 1 with the movablecomponents 2 and 3 are replaced by the movable components 4 followingthem in the continuous groove 1.

Further, the movable components 4 located at the points of intersectionB1 and B2 of the continuous groove 2 with the continuous groove 1 arereplaced in the continuous groove and transferred into the continuousgroove 2 during the displacement of the movable components 4 located inthe continuous groove 2.

Thus, the movable components 4 moved from the continuous groove 1 intocontinuous groove 2 via the points of intersection B1 and B2.

The movable components 4 can be analogously moved in pairs from anycontinuous groove into the adjacent continuous groove.

The housing of the brain teaser may be assembled from two types of innerparts and three types of outer parts (FIG. 4), one part I, three partsII, one part III, three parts IV and three parts V, i.e., from 11 parts.Parts IV and V are inner parts in this case and may be non-transparentor have a dull surface, while parts I, II and III are outer parts andmay be transparent, which enables the player to see the arrangement ofthe balls 4 better. Provisions are made in another variant ofmanufacturing of the housing of the brain teaser for the presence ofthree types of inner parts and three types of outer parts (FIG. 5), onepart I, three parts II, one part III, one part IV, three parts V and onepart VI, i.e., for assembling said housing from 10 parts. Parts IV, Vand VI are inner parts in this case and may be non-transparent or have adull surface, while parts I, II and III are outer parts and may betransparent, which enables the player to see the arrangement of theballs 4 better.

The inner and outer parts are joined together during assembly along thesurface formed by the sliding of a straight line that is perpendicularto the direction of sliding along the trajectory of the continuousgrooves, which makes it possible to avoid undercuts, to simplify theconstruction of the press mold and does not require additional tools forextracting the article from the press mold in case the parts aremanufactured according to the molding) method from a plastic. Inaddition, to impart additional rigidity to the housing of the brainteaser, the points at which the inner parts are joined together may notcoincide with the points at which the outer parts are joined together.The joining together of the housing may be accomplished by providingcatches (not shown in the drawings) and/or adhesive or other means.

Combinatorial Theory

The trajectories of the continuous grooves 1, 2, 3 are arranged along athree-dimensional curve not lying in the plane, which makes it possibleto arrange different numbers of movable components 4 on the sections ofthe continuous groove, which sections are arranged between the points ofintersection of the continuous grooves 1, 2, 3, and thus makes itpossible to broaden the combinatorial theory of the toy. In addition,the arrangement of different numbers of movable components 4 on thesections of the continuous groove that are located between the points ofintersection of the continuous grooves 1, 2, 3 makes it possible toeliminate the drawback inherent in the prior-art toys, namely, thepresence of dependence of the positions of the movable components 4. Forexample, another movable component, which will always be located at thepoint that is diametrically opposite the point at which the first one islocated will always correspond to each movable component in the closestanalog cited, which reduces the combinatorial game theory. Any of themovable components 4 can be located at any point of the other movablecomponents 4 in the technical solution according to the presentapplication.

An uneven number of movable components 4 is arranged in each continuousgroove in order to increase the number of game combinations.

One of the variants of designing the toy provides for the presence ofthree sets of painted movable components 4, and each set comprisesmovable components 4 painted in the same color different from the colorof the movable components 4 of the other set, and additional six movablecomponents 4 painted in a color different from the color of the movablecomponents 4 in the sets. The player must arrange these six movablecomponents 4 at the points of intersection of the continuous grooves,which additionally increases the complexity of solving the brain teaser.

The movable components 4 may also have a graphic marking comprisingnumerical, letter or other symbols (unique for each movable component orfor the movable component in each set of movable components), and ananalogous marking indicating the required position of the movablecomponent 4 is provided on the housing of the brain teaser in order toincrease the combinatorial game theory.

In order to improve understanding of the task to be solved by theplayer, the housing of the toy may have a marking indicating one or morepredetermined required positions of the movable components 4.

What is claimed is:
 1. A three-dimensional brain teaser, comprising: abody of revolution having a surface on which three continuous groovesintersect at six points, plural movable components arranged in thecontinuous grooves, the movable components being configured for movingalong the continuous grooves and for moving from one of the continuousgrooves into another of the continuous grooves wherein points ofintersection of the continuous grooves are located in three half planesof the body, and points of intersection of each pair of the threecontinuous grooves are located in one of the half planes and sections ofthe continuous grooves arranged between said points of intersectioncontain an equal number of movable components, while two remainingsections of each said continuous groove, which two remaining sectionsare located between adjacent said half planes, contain an unequal numberof the movable components.
 2. The three dimensional brain teaser ofclaim 1, wherein the movable components are ball-shaped.
 3. Thethree-dimensional brain teaser of claim 1, wherein the half planes aredefined by an axis of the body of revolution and are arrangedsymmetrically relative to the body of revolution.
 4. Thethree-dimensional brain teaser of claim 1, wherein the body ofrevolution forms an ellipsoid.
 5. The three-dimensional brain teaser ofclaim 1, wherein one of the sections of each said continuous groove thatcontains the unequal number of the movable components, contains an evennumber of the movable components, and another section of said continuousgroove contains an odd number of the movable components.
 6. Thethree-dimensional brain teaser of claim 1, wherein the continuousgrooves are one of narrowed and closed at the points of intersection. 7.The three-dimensional brain teaser of claim 1, further comprisingflexible components at the points of intersection of the continuousgrooves, the flexible components movably fixing the movable components.8. The three-dimensional brain teaser of claim 1, further comprisingstar wheels configured for rotating, the star wheels being equipped withflexible fixing components, and located at sites at which ones of themovable components are adjacent to the points of intersection of thecontinuous grooves.
 9. The three-dimensional brain teaser of claim 1,wherein a track is provided on a bottom of the continuous grooves, acoefficient of friction between the track and the movable componentsbeing greater than a coefficient of friction between the movablecomponents and at least one side surface of the continuous grooves. 10.The three-dimensional brain teaser of claim 1, wherein a track with atoothed surface is provided on a bottom of the continuous grooves, andone of depressions and notches configured for interacting with thetoothed surface of the track are provided on a surface of the movablecomponents.
 11. The three-dimensional brain teaser of claim 1, furthercomprising a relief forming at least one of geometric shapes, numericaland letter symbols on a surface of the movable components.
 12. Thethree-dimensional brain teaser of claim 1, comprising three sets of themovable components in identical numbers, each of the sets comprisingmovable components painted in a same color, different from a color ofthe movable components of another of the sets, and further comprisingsix movable components having a color different from the colors of themovable components in the three sets.
 13. The three-dimensional brainteaser of claim 1, wherein a housing of the brain teaser has a markingindicating at least one predetermined position of the movablecomponents.
 14. The three-dimensional brain teaser of claim 13, whereinthe movable components have a graphic marking, and further comprising ananalogous marking on the housing, indicating a required position of themovable components.
 15. The three-dimensional brain teaser of claim 13,wherein the housing of the brain teaser comprises two inner parts andthree outer parts assembled along a surface forming a straight line thatis perpendicular to a direction of sliding along a trajectory of thecontinuous grooves.
 16. The three-dimensional brain teaser of claim 15,wherein the outer parts of the housing of the brain teaser aresubstantially transparent and the inner parts are one of non-transparentand dull surfaced.
 17. The three-dimensional brain teaser of claim 1,wherein a housing of the brain teaser comprises three inner parts andthree outer parts, which are assembled along a surface formed by asliding straight line that is perpendicular to a trajectory of thecontinuous grooves.
 18. The three-dimensional brain teaser of claim 17,wherein the housing has inner parts and outer parts, and the outer partsof the housing are substantially transparent and the inner parts are oneof non-transparent and dull surfaced.